Robert E. Bonds Peeples v. State of Tennessee
The Petitioner, Robert E. Bonds Peeples, appeals as of right from the Shelby County Criminal Court’s denial of his petition for post-conviction relief. The Petitioner contends that he received ineffective assistance of counsel because his trial counsel failed to secure an expert witness to testify regarding the reliability of eyewitness identification. Discerning no error, we affirm the judgment of the post-conviction court. |
Shelby | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Alexander A. Stratienko, M. D. v. Chattanooga-Hamilton County Hospital Authority, et al
Over nine years of litigation in both state and federal courts has stemmed from a 2004 incident (“the Incident”) wherein Alexander A. Stratienko, M.D. (“Plaintiff”) pushed Van Stephen Monroe, Jr., M.D. while in a staff break room at Erlanger Hospital (“the Hospital”) in Hamilton County, Tennessee. In this appeal, Plaintiff raises issues regarding whether the Trial Court erred in granting partial summary judgment to Chattanooga-Hamilton County Hospital Authority, in not allowing another amendment to the complaint and additional discovery, in excluding claims at trial relative to an administrative hearing, and in holding that Plaintiff failed to prove at trial intentional interference with business relations. We find no error in the Trial Court’s judgments and, we affirm. |
Hamilton | Court of Appeals | |
Kenneth E. King v. Anderson County, Tennessee
We granted permission to appeal in this case to decide whether, for the purpose of determining proximate cause, an assault on an inmate by another inmate is always reasonably foreseeable because penal institutions house dangerous individuals. The plaintiff sued for injuries allegedly suffered as a result of negligence on the part of the staff of the Anderson County Detention Facility in classifying and housing the plaintiff and in failing to release him in a timely manner. The County denied any negligence on its part. The trial court found that while the County was not negligent in its classification or housing of the plaintiff, it had a duty and breached that duty in failing to timely release him. The trial court awarded the plaintiff $170,000 in damages, excluding medical bills, and assessed 55% of the fault to the County and 45% to the plaintiff. The Court of Appeals affirmed the trial court’s actions, making an additional finding that proximate cause existed sufficient to link the plaintiff’s injuries to the County’s breach of its duty to timely release him. We reverse the Court of Appeals and trial court in part and hold that Anderson County is not liable for failing to release the plaintiff in a timely manner because the injuries Mr. King suffered as a result of the delay were not reasonably foreseeable. The award of damages is vacated, with the exception of the statutorily mandated payment of the plaintiff’s medical bills, and the case is reversed and remanded to the trial court for dismissal. |
Anderson | Supreme Court | |
Dexter F. Johnson v. State of Tennessee
In 1994, the Petitioner, Dexter F. Johnson, was convicted of two counts of first degree murder, one count of attempted first degree murder, and one count of attempted aggravated burglary. The Petitioner pled guilty in an agreement that provided that he would receive a life sentence for the two first degree murder convictions, twenty-five years for the attempted first degree murder conviction, and six years for the attempted aggravated burglary conviction. Thereafter, the Petitioner filed four unsuccessful petitions for habeas corpus relief. See Dexter F. Johnson v. Carlton, Warden, E2008-02032-CCA-R3-HC, 2010 WL 323126 (Tenn. Crim. App., at Knoxville, Jan. 27, 2010), perm. app. denied (Tenn. June 30, 2010). The Petitioner then filed a fifth petition for habeas corpus relief, which the habeas corpus court summarily dismissed. The Petitioner appeals, contending that the habeas corpus court erred when it dismissed his petition because the State’s motion to dismiss did not comply with Tennessee Code Annotated section 29-21-116, as the State did not attach a judgment form or indictment to the motion to dismiss. Upon a review of the record in this case, we conclude that the habeas corpus court properly denied the petition for habeas corpus relief. Accordingly, we affirm the judgment of the habeas corpus court. |
Wayne | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
1963 Jackson, Inc., et al. v. Lloyd De Vos, et al.
This appeal arises from Lessee’s rental and operation of a hotel owned by Lessor. Lessee sought Lessor’s consent to an assignment of the lease to a third party. Not only did Lessor withhold consent to the assignment, Lessor terminated the lease based on conditions at the hotel that he deemed to violate the lease. Lessee sued alleging that Lessor wrongfully terminated the lease and unreasonably withheld consent to the assignment. The trial court determined that Lessee had not breached the lease and that Lessor unreasonably withheld consent to the assignment. The trial court awarded Lessee $150,000 in damages for Lessor’s unreasonable withholding of consent to the assignment. Lessor appeals. We affirm in part and reverse in part. |
Madison | Court of Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Kevin Clark
The defendant, Kevin Clark, appeals his Overton County Criminal Court jury convictions of two counts of first degree murder, aggravated arson, abuse of a corpse, reckless endangerment, and two counts of aggravated assault. In this appeal, the defendant contends that the trial court erred by admitting into evidence the videotaped deposition of a State’s witness in lieu of live testimony, that the trial court erred by admitting evidence of forensic testing conducted on the defendant’s shoes and clothing, and that the evidence was insufficient to support his convictions of first degree murder. Discerning no error, we affirm. |
Overton | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Tamara J. Harness v. Gerald Scott Harness
This appeal arises from a dispute over the finality of a judgment and notice in a child support matter. Tamara J. Harness (“Plaintiff”) and Gerald Scott Harness (“Defendant”) have a history of litigation related to their divorce. On November 18, 2009, Defendant simultaneously filed separate petitions to modify his spousal support and child support obligations. The Chancery Court for Hamblen County (“the Trial Court”) confirmed the findings and recommendations of the magistrate with respect to child support on April 29, 2011 . After a hearing, the Trial Court set aside its April 29, 2011 modification of Defendant’s child support. Defendant appeals, arguing, among other things, that the Trial Court erred in addressing for a second time his petition to modify child support when that issue allegedly had been resolved by the magistrate’s findings and recommendations as confirmed by the Trial Court. We hold, inter alia, that the Trial Court’s order of confirmation was interlocutory rather than final, and that the Trial Court did not err in revisiting the child support issue. We affirm the Trial Court. |
Hamblen | Court of Appeals | |
Kenneth E. King v. Anderson County, Tennessee - DISSENT
I respectfully dissent. |
Anderson | Supreme Court | |
In Re: Adoption of Jordan F.J.
This is a termination of parental rights and adoption case. The trial court granted Appellee/Father’s motion for involuntary dismissal at the conclusion of Appellants’ proof. Because the trial court failed to make the required findings of fact and conclusions of law under Tennessee Rule of Civil Procedure 41.02(2), and because we are unable to determine the trial court’s reasoning from the record, we vacate and remand. |
Gibson | Court of Appeals | |
Freda Boyce and Marvell Boyce v. LPP Mortgage LTD
This case involves the application of the doctrine of res judicata. The parties previously engaged in litigation in the General Sessions Court regarding possession of a foreclosed property. The homeowners attempted to assert that the mortgage company did not have proper title to the property prior to initiating foreclosure proceedings. The parties and the trial court all apparently concluded that the General Sessions Court lacked jurisdiction to inquire into the merits of the title based on Tennessee Code Annotated Section 29-18-119. Accordingly, the General Sessions Court entered judgment in favor of the mortgage company. The homeowners subsequently filed an action in the Chancery Court, alleging that the mortgage company committed fraud in foreclosing the property because it had not acquired proper title to the property. The Appellee, having hired a new attorney, asserted that the issue should have been alleged as a defense to the General Sessions Court action, and was, therefore, barred by the doctrine of res judicata. The Chancery Court agreed and dismissed the homeowners’ action on the basis of res judicata. We affirm and remand. |
Shelby | Court of Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Angelo John Amalio
Angelo John Amalio, alias Angelo Gustavo Amalio (“the Defendant”) pleaded guilty to two counts of aggravated assault and one count of public intoxication. The plea agreement provided that the Defendant would serve an effective sentence of five years to be suspended to supervised probation following service of eleven months, twenty-nine days’ incarceration, with restitution to be determined by the trial court. After the restitution hearing, the trial court ordered the Defendant to pay $3,600 in restitution to the victim. On appeal, the Defendant challenges the amount of restitution imposed by the trial court and claims that the trial court failed to consider the Defendant’s ability to pay. Upon a thorough review of the record, we affirm the trial court’s judgments. |
Hamilton | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Verlin Ralph Durham v. State of Tennessee
The petitioner, Verlin Ralph Durham, appeals the dismissal of his petition for the writ of habeas corpus. The petitioner is currently serving a life sentence in the Department of Correction following his first degree murder conviction. On appeal, he contends that the dismissal of the petition was error because the indictment in his case was facially void and that his conviction is illegal because he was convicted pursuant to a prior repealed statute. Following review of the record, we affirm the dismissal of the petition. |
Johnson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Harold Lyons
In May 2010, the Defendant, Harold Lyons, was indicted for possession of drug paraphernalia, a Class A misdemeanor, and selling less than .5 grams of cocaine within 1,000 feet of an elementary school, a Class B felony. See Tenn. Code Ann. §§ 39-17-417, -425, -432. Following a jury trial, the Defendant was convicted of possession of drug paraphernalia and the lesser-included offense of facilitation of the sale of less than .5 grams of cocaine, a Class D felony. See Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-11-403. The trial court sentenced the Defendant as a Range III, persistent offender, to an effective ten-year sentence to be served in confinement. In this appeal as of right, the Defendant contends (1) that the evidence was insufficient to sustain his conviction for facilitation of the sale of less than .5 grams of cocaine and (2) that the trial court erred by denying the Defendant’s request for an alternative sentence. Discerning no error, we affirm the judgments of the trial court. |
Davidson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Jarron Deonte King v. State of Tennessee
Jarron Deonté King (“the Petitioner”) pleaded guilty to one count of second degree murder, two counts of attempted first degree murder, three counts of attempted especially aggravated robbery, and one count of aggravated assault. Pursuant to the plea agreement, the trial court sentenced the Petitioner to an effective sentence of twenty-seven years’ incarceration. The Petitioner subsequently filed for post-conviction relief, which the post-conviction court denied following an evidentiary hearing. The Petitioner now appeals, arguing that he received ineffective assistance of counsel in conjunction with his plea submission hearing and that his plea was constitutionally invalid. Upon our thorough review of the record and the applicable law, we affirm the judgment of the post-conviction court. |
Davidson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Randall Cagle
The defendant, Randall Cagle, pled guilty to four counts of sexual exploitation of a minor, a Class D felony, and was sentenced as a Range II, multiple offender to an effective sentence of eight years, suspended to supervised probation. As a condition of his guilty plea, the defendant attempted to reserve a certified question of law pursuant to Rule 37(b)(2)(A) of the Tennessee Rules of Criminal Procedure regarding the trial court’s denial of his motion to suppress evidence seized during the search of his residence. After review, we conclude that the certified question is overly broad and, as a result, this court is without jurisdiction to consider the appeal. Accordingly, the appeal is dismissed. |
Hickman | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Tyler James Reed
Appellant, Tyler James Reed, stands convicted of felony murder committed in the perpetration of a burglary, aggravated burglary, and employment of a firearm with intent to go armed during the commission of a dangerous felony. The trial court sentenced him to life in prison for the murder conviction, six years for the aggravated burglary conviction, and six years for the firearm conviction, with all sentences to be served consecutively in the Tennessee Department of Correction. On appeal, appellant argues that (1) the trial court erred by denying his motion to suppress all of the statements he made on October 30, 2009, and the physical evidence obtained as a result of those statements; (2) the evidence was insufficient to support the murder and aggravated burglary convictions; (3) the trial court erred by failing to instruct the jury regarding self-defense and voluntary intoxication; and (4) he is entitled to a new trial due to prosecutorial misconduct. Following our careful review of the record, the arguments of the parties, and the applicable law, we affirm the judgments of the trial court. |
Sumner | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Corey Brian Austin
The defendant, Corey Brian Austin, appeals the trial court’s revocation of his probation and reinstatement of his eight-year sentence in the Department of Correction. On appeal, he argues that the trial court erred in revoking his probation. Following our review, we affirm the judgment of the trial court. |
Hardin | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Telly Savalas Johnson v. State of Tennessee
Petitioner, Telly Savalas Johnson, was convicted by a Shelby County jury of five counts of criminal attempt to commit first degree murder. Petitioner was sentenced by the trial court to an effective sentence of 75 years in the Tennessee Department of Correction. On direct appeal, this court affirmed Petitioner’s convictions and sentences. The facts underlying Petitioner’s convictions can be found in this court’s opinion in State v. Telly Savalas Johnson, No. W2009-00764-CCA-R3-CD, 2010 WL 3245284 (Tenn. Crim. App. at Jackson, filed Aug. 17, 2010), perm. app. denied (Tenn. Jan. 12, 2011). In summary, the proof showed that Petitioner shot a .380 caliber pistol multiple times into a van which contained two adults and three minor children. One of the children was struck in the leg by a bullet. Petitioner filed a timely petition for post-conviction relief, alleging that he was denied the right to the effective assistance of counsel. Following an evidentiary hearing, the post-conviction court denied relief. After a thorough review of the record and the parties’ briefs, we affirm the judgment of the post-conviction court. |
Shelby | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Terrance Demond Moses
The defendant, Terrance Demond Moses, was convicted by a jury of first degree (premeditated) murder and of the Class E felony of possession of a handgun after having been convicted of a felony. He was sentenced to life imprisonment for the first degree murder conviction and to a concurrent four years’ incarceration for the handgun possession. On appeal, the defendant challenges the sufficiency of the evidence; asserts that the gun was admitted into evidence in error; and contends that the trial court erred in permitting the State to exercise a peremptory challenge against a prospective juror. Having reviewed the record, we discern no error and affirm the judgments of the trial court. |
Dyer | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
In Re: Jacob H. C.
Father of child born out of wedlock appeals the parenting time and child support provisions of the parenting plan and the denial of his request that the child’s surname be changed from the Mother’s to the Father’s. We affirm the trial court’s denial of Father’s request that the child’s surname be changed, vacate the parenting time and child support provisions of the parenting plan, and remand the case for the court to make findings relative to those provisions of the plan. |
Williamson | Court of Appeals | |
In Re: Atira S. M.
Mother and step-father filed a petition to terminate the parental rights of the child’s father on the ground of abandonment for failure to support and failure to visit the child pursuant to Tennessee Code Annotated § 36-1-102(1)(A) and § 36-1-113. The trial court found the petitioners proved both grounds for termination and that termination was in the child’s best interest. Father appealed. We affirm. |
Rutherford | Court of Appeals | |
Brandon Ostein v. State of Tennessee
Petitioner, Brandon Ostein, pleaded guilty to possession of over 300 grams of cocaine with intent to sell in a drug-free school zone. In accordance with petitioner’s plea agreement, the trial court imposed the minimum sentence of fifteen years to be served at one hundred percent in the Tennessee Department of Correction. Petitioner filed the current petition for post-conviction relief, in which he alleged that he received ineffective assistance of counsel and that his guilty plea was not entered knowingly, voluntarily, or intelligently. Following an evidentiary hearing, the post-conviction court denied relief. On appeal, petitioner argues that he received ineffective assistance of counsel when trial counsel: (1) failed to communicate with petitioner prior to his entering the guilty plea and (2) failed to properly advise him regarding his sentencing range. He further argues that these errors, compounded with the trial court’s failure to inform him of the applicable range of punishment, rendered his guilty plea involuntary. Following our review of the parties’ arguments, the record, and the applicable law, we affirm the judgment of the post-conviction court. |
Davidson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Claude Phillips v. State of Tennesse
Petitioner was convicted of one count of aggravated robbery and one count of aggravated assault. The trial court sentenced petitioner to twenty years as a Range II, multiple offender for his aggravated robbery conviction and to fifteen years as a Range III, persistent offender for his aggravated assault conviction, to be served consecutively. He unsuccessfully appealed his convictions and sentences. See State v. Claude Phillips, No. W2008-02810-CCA-R3-CD, 2010 WL 2695328, at *1 (Tenn. Crim. App. July 7, 2010). Petitioner then filed the current petition for post-conviction relief in which he alleged that he received ineffective assistance of counsel at trial. Following an evidentiary hearing, the post-conviction court denied relief. On appeal, petitioner argues that he received ineffective assistance of counsel when trial counsel failed to properly investigate petitioner’s mental health condition and failed to present mitigating evidence at his sentencing hearing. Following our review of the parties’ arguments, the record, and the applicable law, we affirm the judgment of the post-conviction court. |
Shelby | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Petition of Joby Lee Teal for Extraordinary Relief
Petitioner, Joby Lee Teal, filed a “Petition . . . for Extraodinary Relief” in the Criminal Court of Shelby County, asserting that four convictions in 1988 are invalid. The trial court dismissed the petition without an evidentiary hearing. On appeal, Petitioner asserts he is entitled to relief because the four convictions, entered as a result of a negotiated plea agreement, are void because they were illegally ordered to be served concurrently with each other. For the reasons set forth below, we affirm the judgment of the trial court pursuant to Rule 20 of the Rules of the Court of Criminal Appeals of Tennessee. |
Shelby | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Jose Luis Vizcaino-Ramos v. State of Tennessee
Petitioner, Jose Luis Vizcaino-Ramos, was convicted by a Hardeman County jury of first degree premeditated murder and sentenced to life in prison. His direct appeal was unsuccessful. See State v. Jose Luis Vizcaino-Ramos, No. W2010-01325-CCA-R3-CD, 2011 WL 3330294, at *1 (Tenn. Crim. App. Aug. 3, 2011), perm. app. denied (Tenn. Nov. 16, 2011). Petitioner subsequently pursued post-conviction relief, which was denied by the post-conviction court. On appeal, petitioner contends that he received ineffective assistance of counsel at trial when trial counsel failed to properly investigate his case and failed to request a mental evaluation for appellant. Following our review, we affirm the judgment of the post-conviction court. |
Hardeman | Court of Criminal Appeals |